People are now enjoying fast fiber-to-the-home internet speeds to stream in 4K, make HD video calls, work from home, and share heavy media files within minutes. Fiber internet is the latest internet technology that is taking everyone by their feet. It has doubled the speeds of traditional internet connections that you have at your homes, such as DSL, cable, and satellite. Fiber internet speeds go as high as 1 gigabit without fail.
There are quite a few fiber optic internet providers delivering top-notch fiber internet services that offer symmetrical download and upload speeds.
Table of contents
- 5 Common Myths about Fiber Internet That You Believe!
- Final Thought
As of 2020, the global fiber optic market stands at a value of $6.8 billion. Meanwhile, the fiber optic market in the US boasts a value of $1.9 billion. By 2020, over 53 million households in the US had access to fiber internet. While this may sound like a big number, it is fair to say that the US is still far behind in terms of fiber connectivity when compared to countries like Japan, where over 57% of the people use FTTH, significantly more than regular cable internet.
Other than the slow deployment of fiber internet, there are some misconceptions and myths about fiber internet that make fiber internet connectivity a slow process in the US. Let’s bust some myths about fiber internet together!
5 Myths about the Fiber Internet that You Shouldn’t Believe!
#1. Myth: “Fiber internet is costly”
Truth: Fiber internet is one of the latest internet technologies today. Compared to older broadband services like cable and DSL, fiber internet stands tall as the most advanced type of internet. This also means that fiber internet rollout is less when compared to its counterparts. However, in today’s day, the deployment of fiber internet is freed from financial barriers and other obstacles. The world is adapting to fast-speed internet needs and is therefore advancing towards a more common deployment of fiber optic cables. As a result of fiber internet’s wider accessibility, the prices have also toned down. Many fiber optic internet providers like AT&T and Frontier are now offering 100% fiber internet connections at rather affordable rates.
#2. Myth: “Fiber optic cables can break easily”
Truth: Fiber optic cables are made of thin glass fibers. This, for many people, can mean that these cables break easily, are not flexible, and are therefore not sturdy enough like copper cables. The truth of the matter is that the glass fibers are buffer coated especially to prevent breakage and damage. The glass properties of these cables also enable them to be less vulnerable to changing environments and extreme conditions like humidity and moisture. The cables have no electricity involved in the whole process of data transmission. Resultantly, there are far fewer risks of fires.
#3. Myth: “Fiber internet is not for residential use”
Truth: Many people think that fiber optic cables are difficult to install, making them less available for residential use. Moreover, the high speeds of fiber optic internet mistake people into thinking that it is only suitable for particular usages and not for basic residential use. However, the reality is that even basic internet usage at home can require such fast speeds. Streaming videos in 4K, gaming, or video chatting all require high-speed internet like fiber internet. Therefore, many fiber optic internet providers are offering Fiber-to-the-home services, where residential users are enjoying seamlessly fast internet. Fiber internet is slowly replacing traditional forms of internet, that too for both residential and for business uses.
#4. Myth: “Fiber internet maintenance is difficult”
Truth: Ideally, maintaining fiber optic cables is barely ever a need. These cables have a protective coating and are installed with a lot of intricacies, making them less prone to damage and breakages. Consequently, you will see that fiber internet outage is hardly ever an occurrence, and that maintenance is not needed either. However, when there are any cable faults and breakages, which usually happen due to human intervention. These faults require some extra effort and handling than traditional cables. With a graphic fault locator and other such equipment, faults in optic cables are easily found.
#5. Myth: “Weather conditions can disrupt fiber internet”
Truth: Weather conditions like harsh cold or extremely hot temperatures tend to affect the performance of traditional internet types such as cable and DSL. This is not going to be much of a concern with fiber internet. Fiber optic cables are not vulnerable to harsh weather conditions. These cables can be placed in water, therefore heavy rains and storms also do not impact the fiber internet’s signal strength. Although, if a storm or strong winds make poles and trees crash into fiber cables, then the damage is inevitable. The weather itself does not impact fiber internet signals as it does to cable internet.
Final Thought
It is safe to say that fiber internet is one of the best and most reliable types of internet connections. That you should be using for your residential as well as for business needs. Providers like AT&T, CenturyLink, EarthLink, MetroNet, Frontier, and Grande offer high-speed fiber internet that does not fail to download movies in minutes and stream anything in UHD. As internet usage increases, so does the demand for higher internet speeds. For this reason, opt for future-proof fiber internet so you are not the only one struggling with slow internet.
